Institutional Grant Aid by Tuition Level and Family Income at Private Nonprofit Four-Year Institutions, 2011-12

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In 2011-12, about two-thirds of the institutional grant aid at private nonprofit four-year institutions with published tuition and fees of at least $36,421 was allocated on the basis of financial need. Smaller percentages of institutional grants were need-based at institutions with lower prices.

Notes & Sources

NOTES: Only full-time dependent students who were U.S. citizens or permanent residents are included. Tuition and fee categories are based on quartiles of full-time student enrollment. Income categories represent quartiles of dependent undergraduate students across all sectors. Tuition categories are: lowest: less than $22,105; second: $22,105 to $28,726; third: $28,727 to $36,420; highest: $36,421 or higher. Income categories are: lowest: less than $30,000; second: $30,000 to $64,999; third: $65,000 to $105,999; highest: $106,000 or higher.

At the private colleges and universities with the lowest published prices, students from the lowest income quartile received less institutional grant aid than those from families with higher incomes. At the institutions with higher prices, the most affluent students received the lowest average institutional grants.

At the highest-price private nonprofit institutions, the lowest-income students received almost 2.5 times as much grant aid, on average, as those from the highest income quartile in 2011-12 ($22,750 vs. $9,740).

In 2011-12, 26% of full-time students enrolled in the lowest-price private nonprofit institutions were from the lowest income quartile and 23% were from the top quartile. At the highest-price institutions, 12% of the full-time students were from the lowest income quartile and 46% were from the highest quartile.

In 2011-12, institutional grant aid in the private nonprofit four-year sector ranged from 58% of total grant aid for full-time dependent students enrolled in the lowest-price institutions to 77% for those in the highest-price institutions. (NCES, NPSAS 2012)

In the private nonprofit four-year sector, the percentage of total grant aid received by full-time dependent students coming from federal sources ranged from 6% for students attending the highest price institutions to 20% for students attending the lowest-price institutions. (NCES, NPSAS 2012)

In 2011-12, 15% of full-time students enrolled in four-year private nonprofit institutions were independent of their parents for financial aid purposes. Parent income for these students is not available. (NCES, NPSAS 2012)